More than 200 world leading athletes will take part in The World Cup in orienteering The competition will be held from 30 April to 2 May Sprints will be showcased on the Big Island of Wrocław middle-distance running (5-6.5 kilometre) in Sobótka a city 30 kilometres away from Wrocław and sprint relay in Trzebnica (20 kilometres north of the host city of TWG 2017).  The International Orienteering Federation regards the competitions as the most important test before The World Games 2017 Orienteering is one of the 27 official sports on the programme.  The World Cup in Lower Silesia will take place just before the European Championship that will be held three weeks later in Jesenik in the Czech Republic Poland will host the best representatives of the "Green Sport" inter alia Daniel Hubmann and Tove Alexandersson (IWGA Athlete of the Month for February 2015) Daniel Hubmann form Switzerland is a two-time gold medallist at The World Games He won the overall classification of The World Cup four times he was on the podium of the most important events more than forty times is the leader of the world ranking of The International Orienteering Federation At the international competitions she won nearly twenty medals including two at The World Games 2013 in Cali For the Polish athletes the World Cup will be an important part of their preparations for the TWG 2017 The ranking of the leading hundred athletes in the world includes two Polish women and two Polish men including Wojciech Kowalski - training in Silesia His achievements include inter alia the world's junior vice-championship and the world's military vice-championship The World Cup is accompanied by the O-games We will prepare the routes of varying difficulty even 5.000 people aged from 10 to over 70 years old take part in the events accompanying the professionals “We hope that the viewers will try to run with the map,” says Wojciech Dwojak the president of the Lower Silesia Foot Orienteering Association The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee The IWGA comprises 40 International Member Sports Federations It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG) a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham Poland – October 2024 – On 12 October young people from the Salesian Province of Wrocław (PLO) began their pilgrimage from Wrocław to Trzebnica at the Shrine of St Hedwig of Silesia patron saint of Poland and all historical Silesia as well as married couples and Christian families Provincial Delegate for Youth Ministry and Fr Mariusz Jeżewicz Director of the Salesian Don Bosco school complex in Wrocław One of the special moments of the pilgrimage was the solemn Eucharist presided over by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojdak Metropolitan of Gdansk and President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference in the presence of over seven thousand faithful ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007 This site also uses third-party cookies to improve user experience and for statistical purposes By scrolling through this page or by clicking on any of its elements of Polish nobilityAP Photo | Massimo Sambucetti In 1978 a second papal conclave was held from October 14 - 16 While many Catholics are familiar with October 16 being the feast of St in certain parts of Poland it is better known as the feast of St She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1267 St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage in 1979 to Poland, where he celebrated a special Mass for pilgrims from Silesia John Paul II made a specific reference to the providential day of his election: In its inscrutable designs Divine Providence chose October 16 On October 16 the Church in Poland celebrates St and for that reason I feel specially bound to make this votive offering today to the Church in Poland for the saint who as well as being the patroness of reconciliation between the neighboring countries is also the saint honored on the day of the election of the first Pole to the Chair of Peter He also mentioned how his election participates in "the long history of human events and works of divine Providence connected with Trzebnica and all your region." John Paul II returned to the theme of unity among nations This was during the Communist rule in Poland and at a time in the world when there was a great amount of tension in the world before the Berlin Wall was torn down He ended his homily again desiring to highlight unity I wish to recommend to the Mother of God in Jasna Góra reconciliation between the nations, of which reconciliation we see one mediating in the figure of St As inward unity within each society or community depends on respect for the rights of each of its members so international reconciliation depends on recognition of and respect for the rights of each nation. Chief of these are the rights to existence and self-determination to its own culture and the many forms of developing it John Paul II's final words echoed his hope for his entire pontificate "May this Pope who is today speaking here on the height of Jasna Góra effectively serve the cause of unity and reconciliation in the modern world. In this task keep assisting him with your prayers throughout the land of Poland." unity certainly was a common theme that he worked for until his last breath Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news KotThe artifacts were much older than previously thought the depths of the Cave Tunel Wielki in Małopolska Poland contained a long-lost echo of our ancient human ancestors Polish researchers have determined that a previously unexplored layer of the cave contains evidence of flint tools made by the extinct human species Homo heidelbergensis some 500,000 years ago “Until now, we knew only two places in present-day Poland, where equally old flint artifacts were discovered – in Trzebnica and Rusko in Lower Silesia,” University of Warsaw archaeologist Małgorzata Kot told Science in Poland “There are no older traces of the presence of man in our lands.” According to Science Alert Though researchers have long believed that the artifacts they recovered dated to the Holocene era (around 11,700 years ago) and the Middle Paleolithic era (around 40,000 years) an archaeologist named Claudio Berto of the University of Warsaw hypothesized that what they’d found was actually much older Miron Bogacki/University of WarsawThe entrance of the Cave Tunel Wielki in Poland “It all started with a remark of an expert working on the remains of small mammals Claudio Berto,” Kot explained to Science in Poland “He said that the species he analyzed were certainly older than 40,000 years and could be up to half a million years old.” As Science Times reports Kot and her team returned to the cave in 2018 They discovered that while the upper layers contained animal bones from the Holocene and Middle Paleolithic eras the deeper layers contained much older animal bones Panthera gombaszoegensis; the Mosbach wolf Canis mosbachensis; and Deninger’s bear all of whom lived around half a million years ago the deeper layer also contained evidence of human toolmaking the researchers found approximately 40 flint artifacts including both complete knives and leftover scrap pieces discarded during the toolmaking process Małgorzata Kot/NatureA sample of the tools discovered in Cave Tunel Wielki Researchers say these artifacts are half a million years old “Since these items come from the same layer as the bones it means that their age is very similar,” Kot told Science in Poland “This assumption was confirmed by excavations carried out in the cave in 2018 They confirmed the arrangement of layers described by researchers half a century ago We also discovered more production waste and animal bones.” The researchers believe that the tools were made by Homo heidelbergensis an extinct human species related to Neanderthals and — many believe — to modern-day humans But the discovery also challenges what researchers know about early humans since similar discoveries have suggested that they lived in the open air “We were surprised that half a million years ago people in this area stayed in caves because those were not the best places to camp,” Kot told Science in Poland “Moisture and low temperature would discourage that It is a closed space that gives a sense of security We found traces that may indicate that the people who stayed there used fire which probably helped tame these dark and moist places.” Science Alert points out that the discovery suggests that early humans had adapted to survive in cold “This is an extremely interesting aspect of analyses for us,” Kot told Science in Poland noting that the ancient people were probably living as far north as was survivable “We can examine the limits of the possibilities of survival of Homo heidelbergensis and thus observe how he adapted to these adverse conditions.” archaeologists plan to keep exploring the cave for further evidence of human habitation They’re hopeful that they can find bones from Homo heidelbergensis thus proving that the extinct humans lived there attempts to test bones found in the cave for DNA have failed But perhaps the Cave Tunel Wielki will offer up more information about our ancient past in the future After reading about the 500,000-year-old flint tools found in a Polish cave, read up on ancient artifacts that provide clues into the lives of our ancestors. Or peruse these reconstructed faces of ancient humans, from the Neanderthals to Jesus Margaret Mary AlacoqueVisionary of the Sacred HeartGiovanni Destefanis - CC BY-SA 3.0 + Margaret Mary was born in Autun, France. The entered the Order of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial in 1671 and quickly developed habits of prayer and devotion that distinguished her in the eyes of her community. + In 1673, Margaret Mary experienced the first of a series of visions which focused on the mystery of God’s love and mercy as embodied in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. + Along with her spiritual director, the Jesuit Saint Claude la Colombiere, she was responsible for helping spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the Church. + Saint Margaret Mary died on October 17, 1690. She was canonized in 1920. “This divine heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.”—Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S. Would you like to read more like this?Get Aleteia delivered to your inbox The team of transplant surgeons at Wroclaw University Hospital in ul Borowska are the third in Poland to carry out hand transplantation surgeries The unit has just received the official permit from the Ministry of Health With one more centre of this kind in Trzebinia Wroclaw is the second in the whole of Lower Silesia "We have just received a permit from the Ministry of Health to perform hand transplantation with organs obtained from deceased donors," confirms Bogusław Beck Deputy Director for Medical Affairs at Wroclaw University Hospital "This means we are turning a new leaf in the history of Wroclaw's transplant surgery Wroclaw University Hospital is the leading centre in Lower Silesia for kidney transplants and it also runs an active programme for kidney transplantation from living donors 52 transplants were made (with only 3 transplants obtained from living donors) The hospital also provides liver transplantation 5 liver transplants were completed last year and 4 such surgeries have been performed this year The Ministry of Health is now preparing an amendment to facilitate patients who are waiting for a transplant: it is going to be the transplant that travels to the patient and not the other way round The Ministry has also revealed the latest statistics including 52 kidneys at the hospital in ul the number of transplants has stagnated over the last few years This is particularly striking with living organ donors for family transplantations "50% of the kidneys transplanted in the US come from living donors in Poland this is only 4%," confirms Dorota Kamińska from the Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine Clinic at Wroclaw University Hospital. She also adds that it is necessary to raise the awareness of family transplantation among patients and their families transplantation surgeons run educational campaigns at schools and dialysis centres As many as 1.6 thousand people receive dialysis in Lower Silesia "One kidney is just what you need to survive your life will not be any shorter and it won't suffer in quality Many years of research in the US goes to prove this," says Professor Romuald Zdrojowy Head of the Urological Oncology Clinic at Wroclaw University Hospital The doctors also assure that kidneys are obtained from living donors with a minimally invasive method called laparoscopy and the patients are spared suffering and released from hospital after two or three days on which they can immediately return to their activities is provided with 10 years of mandatory health care and supervision They argue that each person can be a donor and give this most precious of gifts to other people According to the experts at the Getty Museum one of the most interesting creatures they have in their collection isn’t a majestic lion or a graceful bird This charming critter appears in a medieval manuscript nestled in the sleeve of a woman being pointed at by another But how did this prickly pal end up in such a holy setting Let’s turn to the Getty’s manuscript curators, Elizabeth Morrison and Larisa Grollemond “It’s not a complex story,” Morrison explains We often don’t associate medieval nuns with humor The scene takes place in the 13th century at Trzebnica Abbey points directly at the hidden object – a smuggled hedgehog “I love the implied conversation here,” says Grollemond “It’s like one nun is saying mischievously ‘What’s that in your sleeve?’ and the other pretends innocence it makes us believe there’s some truth to the story.” While religious manuscripts more generally depict miraculous events “I can’t think of any other saint’s story involving a hedgehog,” she says with humor And while the hedgehog is undoubtedly cute, this story is truly about the woman pointing at it: a 13th-century duchess named Hedwig of Silesia. commissioned the very abbey where the hedgehog scene takes place with an example of life closer to their own This is particularly the case because she had many trials to face in her married life While Henry and Hedwig were happy and both lived lives of extraordinary holiness their seven children were often bickering among themselves But Hedwig lived a life of mortification, going without shoes, and working herself in the hospitals she and her husband founded. It is said that at one point, she took 10 weeks teaching the Our Father to a poor woman Hedwig was canonized in 1267 by Pope Clement IV A church dedicated to her is one of the examples of Polish architecture in Chicago; in fact it was the first Polish parish in the city To learn more about St. Hedwig, you can visit the J. Paul Getty Museum and delve deeper into the illuminated manuscript of her life, the Vita Beatae Hedwigis.